Best known for the many comedies he made over the decades, Blake Edwards didn’t always stick with that genre. For an unusual entry in Edwards’ filmography, we go a 1962’s thriller Experiment in Terror.

Sadistic murderer Garland “Red” Lynch (Ross Martin) threatens to kill Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick) and her teen sister Toby (Stefanie Powers) unless she accommodates his plans. He demands that she robs the bank where she works to give him the loot.

Despite Lynch’s orders that she not notify authorities, Kelly contacts FBI Agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford) – briefly, as the assailant cuts off the call. Nonetheless, Ripley pursues this lead and eventually works with Kelly to stop this maniac.

Experiment came hot on the heels of Edwards’ 1961 hit Breakfast at Tiffany’s and represented a clear departure from that film’s mix of comedy and drama. In addition, Experiment stands as wholly different than Edwards’ other 1962 film, the relationship melodrama Days of Wine and Roses.

Neither of those flicks did much for me, so that brought me into Experiment with some trepidation. This factor increased given that Experiment felt so far out of Edwards’ standard wheelhouse.

Perhaps the change of pace did Edwards some good. While I wouldn’t call it a classic, Experiment nonetheless delivers a fairly effective little thriller.

And a surprisingly understated one at that, especially given the movie’s promotion. The film’s posters promised “Terror… Tension… Almost More Than the Heart Can Bear!”

Which leads one to believe Experiment will become a briskly-paced and overtly shocking story. Instead, the tale takes its own sweet time to get where it wants to go.

Actually, that doesn’t seem completely true. The movie introduces us to the unnamed psycho almost immediately and sets up the premise right off the bat.

This doesn’t mean Experiment rushes through its story, though. It progresses at a deliberate pace that suits it.

Indeed, Edwards shows a surprisingly restrained hand. He resists the urge to toss out cheap shock tactics or cliché suspense measures to involve the audience.

Instead, Experiment pushes along at a gradual but effective clip. The story never panders or worries that the audience will become bored.

As such, we get a thriller that allows itself to develop naturally and without artificial stabs at drama. We get a quality cat and mouse tale that keeps us with it from start to finish.

Experiment in Terror appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Overall, the transfer largely held up well.

For the most part, sharpness looked solid. A few slightly soft images materialized, but not a lot, so I thought the majority of the flick boasted nice clarity and delineation.

I noticed no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain seemed natural and I witnessed no print flaws.

Black levels were pretty strong, as they presented good depth and dimensionality along with nice contrast. Shadows were also fine. In the end, the movie looked very good.

Remixed from the original monaural, Experiment featured a decidedly subdued DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. Indeed, listeners will often wonder if they activated the included DTS-HD MA monaural option instead.

This meant a soundscape that lacked much ambition, and that made sense given the low-key tone the film often adopted. Still, the lack of much movement or breadth here made the 5.1 presentation seem semi-pointless.

Not that this remix failed to present any signs of life. Music spread across the front in a moderate manner, and some isolated effects popped up in the side speakers.

However, these instances remained surprisingly infrequent and the remix ignored plenty of opportunities for better involvement. For instance, cars didn’t pan across the channels, and even a scene in a bustling nightclub remained stubbornly focused on the front center.

If the remix used the surround channels at all, I didn’t detect it. Perhaps the back speakers brought some minor reinforcement to louder scenes, but to these ears, they remained silent.

At least audio quality worked fine, with speech that appeared reasonably natural and concise. Effects didn’t come with much impact, but those elements sounded accurate enough and didn’t suffer from notable distortion.

Music showed appealing warmth. Nothing here impressed but the 5.1 remix worked fine.

As noted, the disc also came with the movie’s theatrical monaural track. It came with quality similar to what I heard from the 5.1 version.

Traditionally I prefer to watch films with the audio from its origins, and that held true for Experiment, as I’d opt for the mono in the future. That said, the 5.1 remix remained so understated that it became a perfectly acceptable option, as it didn’t differ enough from the 1962 source to turn into a distraction.

Other than the film’s trailer, we get no extras here.

Much more of a ‘slow burn’ tale than its title and tagline imply, Experiment in Terror becomes a reasonably satisfying thriller. While it might benefit from a little more sizzle, I appreciate its understated tone and think its choices largely work. The Blu-ray comes with very good picture and appropriate audio but it lacks bonus features. Expect a quality crime drama here.